The Pros And Cons Of Sous Vide Cooking At Home

TrexieApril 27, 2017November 13, 2017Comments Off on The Pros And Cons Of Sous Vide Cooking At Home

Cooking Sous Vide has become extremely popular in some restaurants and thanks to the household machines, it is now popular for home use. The method works on submerging food that is vacuum sealed into water that has been heated precisely. Then you return after the specified time, and your meal is complete. The concept is very simple but what merits Sous Vide cooking and does it outweigh the actual detractions?

Consistency

Sous Vide first became popular in restaurants as it became one of the easiest methods to ensure consistency. This is because the temperature of the water is so precise and controlled the technique allowed chefs to make sure they produced the same meal every time.

Food Is Cooked To Perfection

The Sous Vide cooking technique also ensures that food is never under or over cooked as whatever food is inside this water bath will reach the desired temperature without going a degree below or above. This tool is handy when it comes to cooking seafood and meats which have small windows in association to the done-ness. Find out about the best water baths for sous vide cooking.

Sensory Deprivation

One of the cons associated with Sous Vide cooking is that may very well be one of the more scientifically based ways to cook it certainly does take a bit of the art of cooking away. When you cook food in airtight containers that are submerged into hot water, you won’t be able to touch, taste or smell anything during the process of cooking.

Preparation Time

There is often much work involved when it comes to Sous Vide cooking at home. It necessitates costly equipment and the process involved in preparing meat, vacuum sealing the food, placing it into the water, making a separate sauce and then browning the meat on the outside can be conducted all in one step with other types of cooking methods. While the art of Sous Vide cooking is extremely useful in a restaurant kitchen, it takes away the excitement and fun associated with home cooking.

Low-Temperature Cooking Pros

When it comes to Sous Vide cooking, you can achieve a low cooking temperature which is just not possible when it comes to the conventional methods. For example, tougher cuts of meat such as pork shoulder, lamb belly, and short ribs can now easily be cooked for much longer periods to achieve a far tender texture as well as a doneness that is not well-done.

Other advantages for the tender cuts such as beef-shell steak and lamb loin is cooked to uniform doneness from one end of the meat to the other and will not need to rest before you slice it. However, at the same time, one of the cons of Sous Vide cooking is that the results are not easy to achieve. This is because there are various animal protein types which all take various times in which to cook. Certain types of food can stay in the water bath for longer periods and will not lose out on quality, while other such as lean meat or fish can turn mushy.

To use the low temperature/ Sous Vide technology in an effective way from home, you first need to have a sound understanding about the difference between vegetable and proteins and how they will respond when exposed to heat. However, once you are aware of how to cook different foods you as a home cook, similar to any of the other foodservice professionals can easily prepare your meals in advance as well as returning this food back to its appropriate temperature before serving without losing out on the quality of the meal.